Han Nguyen suffered serious injuries after clinging to various tree branches for 11 hours after being overtaken by Hurricane Katrina's storm surge in Bay St. Louis, Miss. Nguyen attempted to ride out the storm in the Vietnamese convenience store near the beach, when the storm's surge trapped him in the building. As the water pushed Nguyen towards the ceiling, the force of the storm suddenly destroyed the building, allowing Nguyen to swim out, only to be tossed into the treetops where he stayed throughout the rest of the storm.